Office copying, duplicating, and similar reproduction is carried out in a multitude of equipment configurations. However, almost universally, the reproduction process results in paper sheets which ultimately come to a pocket holding device wherein shelves are placed one above the other in order that the distribution device can project the sheets into the area between two shelves, normally referred to as a pocket or compartment.
Conventionally, the shelves are notched in order that the operator is able to grip a stack of sheets placed in a particular pocket without the need to pry under a stack.
Although there are mechanical devices to feed sheets one at a time out of collator holding bin structure, the removal of an entire stack from a pocket is generally accomplished manually.
Manual removal of stacks of sheets from pockets is a relatively slow procedure and while it is being done the collecting pockets cannot be used for a new run from the source projecting sheets into the collector pocket. Hence, if that source is a production machine, the machine is down while the previous run is being removed. Of course, a second or third collecting bin is sometimes available, but even so it is a slow labor procedure to remove the stacks from a collator collecting bin unit. For example, there may be 50 or more pockets in one unit, and unloading those pockets one at a time is labor-time consuming.